Chelsea news: The Blues have been undertaking their first sessions back at Cobham following the conclusion of their USA pre-season tour
Thiago Silva is one of the candidates to become Chelsea’s new captain (Image: (Photo by Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images))×
Chelsea are facing a decisive week at Cobham as Mauricio Pochettino prepares his players for their Premier League opener against Liverpool. The Blues have endured a successful pre-season with three wins from five games, displaying an attacking style of football.
A 1-1 draw with Borussia Dortmund in Chicago saw their pre-season campaign come to an end but an injury suffered to Christopher Nkunku was the biggest concern. Thankfully, a long-term absence looks unlikely but the Frenchman faces a race against the clock to be fit for the Liverpool clash.
While Nkunku is alongside Benoit Badiashile and Armando Broja in recovering from an issue, Pochettino has been working his players hard on the pitches at Cobham. So, with that said, football.london has pulled together everything spotted in training as Chelsea begin the final week of preparations.
Warning to Klopp
Chelsea’s best chance of exploiting Liverpool’s weaknesses could come down the right-hand side. Trent Alexander-Arnold has been either deployed in midfield or drifted centrally while the Reds search for a new holding midfielder.
A large gap being available in that part of the pitch could be taken advantage of by Ben Chilwell, who got forward considerably in pre-season, with his potential partner in crime being revealed.
As the Chelsea players took to the Cobham pitches, Chilwell was snapped alongside Nicolas Jackson who will likely be given the nod if Nkunku misses the game through injury. The 22-year-old was in fine form during pre-season and could certainly carry that into the Premier League season with Chilwell sure to launch in numerous crosses on the opening day.
Pochettino captain hint
The topic of captaincy is not one that Pochettino has delved into with much detail after he admitted the decision would be revealed on the day of the Liverpool game.
Reece James, Thiago Silva, Enzo Fernandez and Raheem Sterling are just a few of the options, but Pochettino could have potentially dropped a hint in Chelsea training. With his team-mates doing a drill, Silva was pictured alongside Pochettino and Jesus Perez casting an eye over the session while having a laugh, perhaps hinting he has been chosen to represent the club officially as named captain.
Injury boost
Nkunku’s potential absence against Liverpool will be a huge blow if he cannot be passed fit in time, but Pochettino has been handed a huge injury boost ahead of the clash.
Noni Madueke played no minutes in pre-season after arriving late from England’s under-21 European championship triumph with a hamstring injury, but he is now back in training and does not look to have suffered any setbacks
On Instagram, Madueke posted a story showing himself back in action at Cobham with the caption: “Back w the boys, God is in control *Blue heart emoji, praying emoji*.”
Soucre: football.london
